This study explores the effects of participation in short-term summer study abroad (SA) programmes in Spain on second language (L2) learners' attitudes towards Spanish. Both quantitative and qualitative findings indicate that participants' international experience improved their attitudes with regard to L2 learning. More importantly, participant…

Culturally competent teachers are in high demand as the English learner (EL), culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) student population increases in the U.S. However, the teaching force continues to be predominantly female, White, and monolingual, inexperienced in dealing with diverse populations. Typically, teacher preparation to teach ELs…

This study investigates first-year undergraduates when starting their studies in a highly internationalised public university settled in a multicultural and multilingual European city. It focuses on to what extent individual differences as regards plurilingualism and previous intercultural experience are related to a higher or lower degree of…

Learning a language has become more accessible online butrelatively-few applied studies have explored the implications of technological advances, and the learners who use them (Chik and Ho 2017. "Learn a Language for Free: Recreational Learning among Adults." "System" 69: 162-171, 163). This mixed-methods study explores…

People who learn a foreign language hold various mental images about the target language country, its culture and society. These images are recognised as a valuable source of information for developing the cultural component of a foreign language programme. However, explorations of mental images of Korea held by students enrolled in Korean…

Demographic changes continue to challenge educators across the United States. Currently, five million English language learners (ELL) attend the country's public schools, and immigrant populations are expected to increase by 85% by 2060. Despite teacher education programmes offering English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses to prepare…

While in recent years, the introduction of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) courses has been increasing in Taiwanese and Vietnamese universities, use of EMI courses is still in an early phase, and their effectiveness remains under-explored in both territories. This study aims to develop an EMI effectiveness scale and apply…

As part of its ambitious Belt and Road initiative, the Chinese government, cognizant of the fact that establishing strong people-to-people bonds locally, regionally, and internationally will be key to the initiative's success and that languages will play a pivotal role in facilitating this, has called for the diversification of language programmes…

Regular and sustained contact with speakers of other languages might offer members of multilingual societies opportunities to develop cultural awareness through interactions with diverse individuals. This study examines how the language awareness of individuals in a highly multilingual setting can act as a resource to support their learning about…

This paper explores eight Kazakhstani postgraduate students' reflections of their international educational experiences in the UK after their immediate re-entry into Kazakhstan. Special focus was on their language identity development after their one-year stay in the UK. It was informed by Benson et al.'s ([2013]. "Second Language Identity in…

In the context of the exponential growth of multicultural campuses worldwide and the consequent need for students to engage in intercultural interaction, this article reports on parts of the findings of a study examining the relationships between learners' backgrounds (language and intercultural experiences) and their intercultural views and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of intercultural encounters with the Other (between Jews and Arabs) during graduate studies, at colleges of education and university education departments, on the level of intercultural competence reported by them. Intercultural competence means a long-term change in the level of knowledge,…

This article aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on the use of first language (L1) in foreign language (FL) classrooms by reviewing recently published empirical literature from 2011 through 2018. The article focuses on literature relevant to four key areas: (1) extent and impact of L1 use; (2) factors influencing L1 and second language…

This case study examines the goals of 13 Japanese graduate students who studied abroad, and situates those goals in the larger context of Japanese society. The study abroad objectives of the Japanese government and some Japanese universities are compared and problematised. The authors conducted three interviews of each study abroad participant…

The goal of this article is to examine intercultural experiences and the cultural identity reconstruction of Chinese international students in Germany by focusing on their cultural learning, and use of multiple languages including English as a lingua franca (ELF), German and Chinese. Three rounds of individual interviews over 1 year were conducted…